Prime Minister's Office
English rendering of PM’s address to Civil Services Probationers in Kevadia
Friends,
This evening's experience is amazing, in the vicinity of the Statue of Unity near Sardar Sarovar Dam in Kevadia. It will be remembered for life and just now we heard the voice of Sardar Saheb and his message. It touches the inner self directly.
Friends,
This combined foundation course of various civil services of the country has in a way started a new chapter. Till now it has been known that some people are trained in Mussoorie, some in Hyderabad or in other cities. As I told you before; the form of silos which I often talk about used to start from the training itself. The integration of civil services in true sense is beginning now with you all. This in itself is a reform. I congratulate all the officials associated with this and all my friends.
Friends,
This reform is not just limited to the integration of training, but its thinking and approach have also been widened. Efforts have been made to ensure that all the young trainees like you have an extensive exposure. This is the reason why you were introduced to the global leaders and experts connected to the social and economic world.
Friends,
Beneath the Statue of Unity, this programme becomes even more special, even more significant because Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel himself had the vision to make all the Civil Services an important medium of nation building and national unity. To achieve this vision, he faced many challenges. At that time, some people felt that the officers who played a role in suppressing the freedom movement, how they would be helpful in building independent India. And this question was very natural. This question was natural and the feeling of hatred was also very natural; but the far-sighted Sardar Saheb reminded these critics that after all it is on the basis of the bureaucracy we have to move forward. It is this bureaucracy which acted as a vital link in the expenditure of princely states.
Friends,
Sardar Patel has shown that it is always necessary to have a strong will power for meaningful change in the life of ordinary people. Nearly a hundred years ago, by changing the Ahmedabad municipality with the limited resources within ten years, he had convinced every one of his talent. And with this vision, he had drawn the roadmap of civil services of independent India.
Friends,
Every effort made with impartial and selfless spirit is the strong foundation of the New India. To fulfil the dream of a New India, 21st century thinking and dreams are indispensable in our bureaucracy - a bureaucracy that is creative and constructive, imaginative and innovative, proactive and polite, professional and progressive, energetic and enabling, efficient and effective, transparent and tech-enabled.
Friends,
There is a huge opportunity before you and the responsibility is also equally huge. There was a time when your seniors had to handle everything in the absence of basic facilities, be it roads, railways, ports, airports, schools, colleges and even telephones; everything was lacking. Today the situation is not the same. India is changing rapidly. The journey that had once started with fewer resources is now moving towards abundance. Today there is immense youth power in the country. Today the country has abundant food grains. Today the country has the power of modern technology - now you have to take full advantage of this abundance. You have to increase the country's viability, as well as strengthen its stability.
Friends,
You have not chosen this path only for a job or career, but have come to serve. You have come with a sentiment to serve. You have come here with the mantra of ‘Seva Paramodharma’. Lakhs of lives will be affected by your every decision, every action and every signature. And friends, whatever decision you take, its scope will undoubtedly be local and regional, but its prospective should be national. That is, you will take the decision according to the needs and problems of your district, your block and your department. You can and should always check how they can contribute to the development of the country.
And friends, you will definitely judge your decision on the two criteria. One - as Mahatma Gandhi had shown the way - whether your decision is able to fulfil the hopes and aspirations of the person at the bottom-most stratum of the society or not; And second - your decision should be such that it helps to advance and strengthen the unity, integrity and progress of the country.
Friends,
The discussion on Aspirational districts was held here. After all, why did more than 100 districts of the country miss the race for development? Mindset and approach have also been a major reason behind this. These districts were geographically and socially very challenging. So they were ignored at every stage. These districts were left to their fate. This neglect led to a feeling of dissatisfaction in the society and unscrupulous forces were taking advantage of this. As a result, the development of these districts became even more difficult. It was necessary to change this situation. So we decided to highlight the aspirations of these districts instead of backwardness. We started working on every parameter of the Human Development Index within a time frame. We launched the schemes in a more effective way by increasing the use of technology. Today we are also getting unprecedented results. And now all of you have the responsibility to expedite this work.
Friends,
In the future, many of you will be posted at the block or district level. Obviously, you will have to find solutions to many problems there. I would suggest that you take up one major problem at a time in your area and try to solve it completely i.e. one district, one problem and total solution. Often, we start enthusiastically trying our hand at everything simultaneously, dividing both our efforts and our resources. Solve one problem at a time, which will also give you confidence and the people's trust in you will also increase. Now if you win the trust of the public, then public participation with you also increases.
Friends,
You have a big challenge before you to change the negative thought about bureaucracy and system. Bureaucracy and system have become two such words that do not need the adjective 'bad' to mean bad bureaucracy or bad system. It is already being used in a negative connotation. Why did this happen? Most of our officers are hardworking and receptive, but a negative perception has been formed over the entire system and the entire bureaucracy.
Friends,
The image that has been created about civil services is of power, aristocracy and influence. This image is definitely of the colonial legacy, which some people could not relinquish completely. You have to try to pull the Civil Services out of this image. You should be identified with soft power, not hard power. Hard power causes resentment and soft power becomes a great medium to develop harmony. There should be a simple mechanism from appointment to hearing. The public should never feel that you live behind seven doors. It is not possible that you have an instant solution to every problem and the general public also understands this very well. They just want to be heard and want respect. Citizens just want their voices to reach the right platform. Sometimes the citizens of our country get satisfied just by that. Your effort should be to leave your office with a sense of respect and satisfaction.
Friends,
For any public servant, honest feedback is very important for effective implementation of the policy and effective service delivery. You must develop this mechanism too. Earlier, there was a rule for the collectors for night halts. There also used to be a march to halts ratio. This entire exercise showed how much time the officer spent in the field. Now this tradition, in a way, has brought a lot of slackness in it; somewhere it seems to have ended. One such old tradition was that of the district gazetteer, which now seems almost extinct. There was also a system of handing over note, in which every officer leaving the office would leave a note for the new officer. Through this note, the new officer had great facility to understand the challenges, problems and important issues related to that post or to that office. There used to be a continuity of governance. Many such best practices have been in our old systems, which need to be revived. We have to enrich and further strengthen the old good traditions with the new technology in today's era. We should use technology as a multiplier, not as an alternative. Such as feedback mechanism; along with the old methods of interaction we can make better use of social media. Social media may not and should not be considered a reliable source, but it is definitely a tool that we can use. And yes, the input that we get about our decisions, our policies, and the feedback that we get, is equally important. It must not be the case that we listen to and see only that which suits our ears and eyes. We should read and listen to the opinions of our opponents, while expanding our scope of getting feedback. This will give depth to our vision only.
Friends,
Sometimes we make another mistake while staying in the government system. Often sitting in AC rooms we feel that everything is alright. We have a limited social circle, which includes people just like us. This is the reason why very often we do not get the right information about common problems. Therefore, in any service, we need to get out of our comfort zone and connect with the people. This will help us in taking the right policy decision.
Friends,
We also have to understand that be it the ministries or municipal corporations or other government departments, we are a service provider. The consumer should be the topmost priority of the service provider. When we understand this, then changes will be brought at every level from supply chain management, to the inventory of man power and technology. Life will automatically become easy when there are necessary changes in service delivery.
Friends,
I have just used the prevailing language of management with you and that is because sometimes it is very easy to go from known to unknown to explain something. It is also an easy way. Beyond all this remain our inner feeling, our inner desires and inner senses. A thought should be associated with your existence with every breath. What is that idea?
Friends,
It should be ingrained in your mind that whatever you are today is because of your country, society and crores of people of this country. This country belongs to me; the people of this country belong to me. The frills and paraphernalia that I have received after coming in this service are laced with the smell of sweat of poor people.
Friends,
We are indebted to the poor of the country and to the people of the country. We have only one way of repaying the debt of the poor and the common man of the country - we should make the life of the countrymen easier and by earnestly trying to work hard for their rights and what they deserve.
Friends,
Today's New India is more aspirational than ever. It is impatient and its urge for development is more than ever. Today, all over India, we can see that the citizen is more aware, alert, more involved and more sensitive than ever before. If the government makes an appeal and asks for any help or requests to join any campaign, then all the countrymen happily join it. In such a situation, we also have a responsibility to increase the ease of living of the countrymen. We have to work proactively for the same. We have to ensure that the common man does not have to deal with the government in everyday life. We have to take care that the lives of the ordinary citizens do not get subdued under the influence of the government and the life of the poor should not end in the absence of the government.
Friends,
One more thing plays an important role in ensuring ease of living. This is the idea behind strengthening our economy, our Per Capita Income and the goal of creating a five trillion dollar economy. All of you have a great responsibility in achieving this goal. Wherever you will be stationed, efforts should be made by all the organs of the Civil Services to make all the arrangements business friendly in order to create a better ecosystem there.
Friends,
The need of the hour is to ensure that all the districts of the country compete with one another for their economic progress. The more a district grows, the better will its state perform and it will have a direct impact on the GDP of the entire country. And so in the future, whichever district you are posted at, you must make every effort to speed up economic activities. For example, if we take export - does the district have a proper system of export? Are the products of that district sold in countries around the world? Do you have any plans to increase the export? You should set the target associated with increasing exports, manufacturing and agriculture; and use sustained efforts to achieve the goals associated with them. I hope that with your concerted efforts, we will be able to achieve every goal.
Friends,
It is equally important that for major goals our decisions are clear and timely. But many times we see that there are some friends who try to avoid decision making. This may or may not result in profit or loss at the individual level, but the country suffers a lot. The nation and we all have a lot of expectations for solutions from all of you. We don't expect a status quo from you.
Friends,
Every necessary administrative reform is being done so that you can work with complete freedom and responsibility. We are also trying to ensure that 'transfer Raj' ends and the bureaucracy get a stable tenure; capability is considered instead of lobbying for posting. You have become a witness to our efforts of overhauling the existing training system. We are moving towards an integrated mechanism which will be based on continuous customized delivery.
Friends,
You have a long tenure. I got an opportunity to spend almost the entire day with you all. In a way, it is just the beginning of our meeting. We will continue to meet even in the future. During training, you should learn new things and apply new learning in the service of the country. Never let the student inside you die. We may achieve any heights in life, but the inner student teaches us many things and continues to inspire us to learn more.
Friends,
It is our collective responsibility to fulfill the dreams of Sardar Patel. It has to be fulfilled and with this expectation, I conclude by offering my best wishes to you all. And like I said this morning, the service you are associated with is a part of Sardar Saheb's dream. And so the strong foundation stone laid by Sardar Saheb, has been developing gradually over the last 70 years. Now the times have changed, the century has changed, the dreams have changed, intentions have changed, expectations have changed, needs have changed and in such a scenario, we cannot create a New India of the 21st century with a mindset of the previous century. Thus, our thinking should also be of the 21st century. Our dreams should also be of the 21st century, and with the blessings of Sardar Saheb, we have to make ourselves capable and we have to dedicate ourselves for fulfilling this dream. We have to bring the change through our efforts. Every Indian has a dream to create a New India, but we have a greater responsibility. Make yourself eligible for that responsibility.
This statue of Sardar Saheb is known as the highest statue in the world, but for us it is not only the highest statue, but is a statue that will inspire everyone for centuries to come. We will depart from here by seeking inspiration from this statue for centuries to come, bowing our heads, pledging to follow his ideals, taking the blessings of mother Narmada for further strengthening this resolve. With this one expectation, I offer my best wishes to you.
Thank you all so very much.